


Power of a Friendship

by Higgies230



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Happy Ending, Hurt Peter Parker, Hurt/Comfort, Identity Reveal, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Insecure Peter Parker, M/M, Parent Tony Stark, Sad Peter Parker, Suicidal Thoughts, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Worried Tony Stark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-01
Updated: 2019-05-31
Packaged: 2019-10-20 15:39:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 19,755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17625119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Higgies230/pseuds/Higgies230
Summary: Peter finds a boy (OMC) in a suicidal state. He befriends the boy to save him but as it turns out, the boy will save him too. They start a relationship and Peter struggles with his need to not disappoint his mentor, not by being gay or weak.Add in a huge identity reveal and Tony Stark acting a Peter's dad with an Avenger family chucked into the mix. Not a normal teenage situation.





	1. Todd

  Peter’s night had been relatively quiet so far, boring even although he hated to think of it that way because it was good if nothing was happening. If nothing was happening than no one was getting hurt. And so, Peter decided to call it a night early, his normal curfew was midnight but after asking Karen he found it was only ten. It almost seemed a shame but he was so tired but it was a Friday and that meant that tomorrow he would be going to the compound to work with Tony.

  So there he was, Spider-man swinging back home but not in a hurry, wanting to stretch out the patrol just in case. He was two blocks from home and from his bed when the crying found his ears. His hearing was incredible since the bite but he had learnt how to hear selectively, the sounds of people talking, TVs, cars, they all faded into the background, sometimes he would hear crying but this sounded different.

  This sobbing sounded painful, each sound torn from its owner’s throat and Peter felt drawn to find out, to make sure this person was okay. He followed the sound, crawling up walls and swinging across alleys until he landed on the fire escape outside of the window wherein the person crying was.

  Looking in, Peter felt his blood chill. There sat a boy on his bed, a teen that was around Peter’s age, curly hair falling into his eyes as his head was bent, tears dripping off of his cheeks and onto his arms. But it was the knife, a kitchen knife clutched in a shaking hand, pressed against his bare wrist.

  Quickly, Peter stepped forward and knocked on the window. The boy jumped, staring around at him with wide eyes that only grew wider when he saw that it was Spider-man there. The knife had fallen from his grip and Peter couldn’t help but let out a relieved sigh at that, this boy was on the edge and he needed someone and Peter was there, Peter had to be that someone right now but the boy didn’t know him.

  Peter smiled out of habit because of course this boy couldn’t see it but waved, the boy, still looking to be in shock, waved back. His window was partly open as it was a hot summers evening and Peter, after a moment’s hesitation, pulled it open further and crawled inside. The boy stumbled back and really Peter could sympathise with that, holding up his hands and hoping to calm the wild look in this teen’s eyes.

  “Hey man, can you tell me what’s wrong?” he asked after the boy had relaxed minutely. He really did not know what exactly to do or say.

  The boy just shook his head, Peter seeing the obvious clench of his jaw. The knife was lying on the floor between them and when Peter looked up from it, he looked straight at the boy’s wrists, searching for damage. Again, Peter let himself breath out in relief when he saw the pale skin clear of blood, there were however lines crossing up the boy’s forearms. The thin scars that littered Peter’s thighs itched then just thinking about the phantom pain, years old now, well less than years maybe.

  “Can you tell me your name, trust me I only want to help,” Peter continued, trying to get something out of this boy.

  “My name is Todd okay. Todd James but Spider-man, I don’t need your pity,” the boy, Todd said after a moment.

  “Todd, like it, good name. Don’t worry, I don’t pity you, I’ve been there before,” Peter confessed, it was the truth, he had been so close to trying to stop the guilt after Ben’s death, telling the truth would maybe get the teen to trust him more.

  “You’ve been… you wanted to- you know,” Todd got out.

  This was a heavy conversation and Peter couldn’t do it standing so he sat, sat on Todd’s bed where Todd had been sat as he held the knife to his skin. Maybe he should move the knife. Yeah, good idea Parker. He got up again and moved the knife from the floor to the windowsill before sitting back down, patting the edge of the bed besides him. There was a moment of hesitation but then Todd sat down beside him.

  “I, I don’t really do this you know,” Peter started, he felt like he needed to just make this clear, “I’m not shrink or anything but I found that just talking- it helped.”

  “Okay, okay Spider-man. Shit, you’re Spider-man,” Todd laughed, unbelieving. He didn’t seem very comfortable but Peter couldn’t blame him. Of all the Avengers, he was the one that people connected to the least because he was the Avenger without a name or a face and right now he _needed_ Todd to talk to him. This was quite literally a matter of life or death.

  “How- how old are you?” Peter asked.

  “Sixteen, I’m sixteen,” Todd replied, looking down at still shaking hands.

  “Hey me too man,” Peter replied, smiling sadly under the mask. It was heart-breaking to think that people their age were here, like this.

  “What… no you’re not,” Todd said, incredulously turning to him, “that’s impossible.”

  “No, I really am,” Peter countered, pulling off his mask and setting it down besides him before he could change his mind.

  “Shit,” Todd breathed.

  “Yeah, I um, you know there’s a reason I have a secret identity, people I want to keep safe so please don’t tell anyone about this,” Peter almost begged, fear bubbling in his gut. So stupid, why the fuck had he done that?

  “I yeah, I promise,” Todd said, still just staring.

  “So, why do you want to- why do you want to die?” Peter asked, moving so that he was facing Todd.

  “I um. Is it okay that I feel un-uncomfortable telling you? I mean, you’re this big hero and you’re my age but you’re so much bigger than me,” Todd said, insecurity oozing through.

  Oh shit, of course. Why couldn’t he do even this right? This poor boy needed him and he couldn’t so this right.

  “You know I’m not all that great. I have some special abilities cause I got bitten by this radioactive spider,” Peter told him. Why did he keep talking? Why was he telling this strange teen all about himself? Oh God, if Mr Stark ever found out about this he would kill him.

  No, he knew why he was doing this. This boy was suicidal, the tears were still drying on his face, the knife was sitting on the windowsill. He knew what this felt like, he had barely managed to keep himself from the impulse, the only thing keeping him here was his Aunt. He didn’t know if Todd had anyone to live for so he needed to be here, to be a friend or a shoulder at least.

  “Doesn’t matter, you save people and you’re sixteen. You’ve been doing this for at least a couple of years right? I mean, that’s insane,” Todd half whispered.

  “Yeah, doesn’t mean I’m all that great. Just after I was bitten something happened to me and I… I was you. I wanted to die, I was going to overdose on sleeping pills,” Peter told him, swallowing hard around the lump in his throat as memories threatened to surface.

  “What- what stopped you?” Todd asked, he looked shocked at Peter’s revelation. Suppose it was a shock to see a hero like Spider-man suddenly so human.

  “I had one person left. I had one person and I was the only person she had. Has. And we love each other, she’s everything now and I’m everything to her. I lived for her. Do you have anyone like that Todd?” Peter told him.

  He was horrified but he was crying now, silent tears dripping down his face but Todd was crying too. He was crying and shaking so Peter pulled him close into his arms, slowly at first, gauging whether this was the right move- he after all knew nothing about this boy. The gesture was well received though, the teen curling into Peter’s chest despite being taller- not a great feat he knows.

  “My- my father’s dead and my mother is always high or drunk, I don’t really have friends as such,” Todd said into the spider suit.

  “How about I be you friend?” Peter suggested.

  Todd pulled back and stared at him, his face was wet, his eyes red and puffy but Peter was struck at how cute this boy was, the sudden thought making him blush. Obviously, Todd took that blush to be from what he had just said, the other teen starting to stutter out a reply.

  “I-I um, no. Mr Spider-man, I couldn’t ask that.”

  “Hey, look, I have the grand total of one and a half friends. The half being this girl who I really can’t tell if she hates me or actually wants to be my friend. I want her to be my friend, she kind of hangs out with us so… ah see I’m just a nerdy loser under the mask. To be honest, we both need friends so I’ll help you out and you can help me,” Peter rambled, growing even redder. Jesus he was a loser, what the hell was it about his mask that made him actually able to speak to people?

  There was a long moment where the two teens just watched each other. Peter couldn’t help but take in how blue Todd’s eyes were, his cheekbones or his jaw. Yes, he liked guys and girls, not that he had told a single soul or planned to. God this was embarrassing, he was meant to be helping this poor boy.

  “Yeah I’d like that Spider-man… um, could I ask you your name?” Todd asked after a moment.

  Peter smiled at him, chuckled a little even, so relieved that he had agreed. He wasn’t really an Avenger like the others, he was more of a Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-man who occasionally went on Avengers missions. He liked it that way and that way he helped the little folk. Todd was little folk, part of Queens and the people he vowed to protect and if Peter could protect this teen and gain a friend, well win win.

  “My name’s Peter,” he told the boy.


	2. What Would Mr Stark Say?

  Peter woke suddenly from a dream filled with blood. The teen gasped and sat up, viciously scratching at his wrists. Looking down, he saw the thin, pale scars that adorned the insides of his arms, the ones that he covered with long sleeved hoodies and shirts even in the summer. There were no scars above the veins on his wrists though, he had never done that, not like in the dream. The dream where he had held the kitchen knife to his wrists and sliced, the blood pooling over a bedroom floor that was not his own.

  Memories of the previous night came rushing back and he fell back against the bed, horrified at what he had done. The nightmare made sense now, remembering taking the kitchen knife from the boy, the bedroom floor in the dream being his. He remembered what else he had done, the bit that horrified him the most. He had taken his mask off and revealed his identity to a complete stranger, worse than that he had told the strange boy his name. Oh God, Mr Stark would kill him if he ever found out. He’d take the suit away and he would get that disappointed look in his eyes.

  He shuddered at the thought and had to force himself to climb out of bed, limbs stiff. He stumbled to the bathroom, deliberately bypassing the mirror and heading straight to the shower. The shower was a welcome relief, the hot water ran off his body, the droplets hitting the base of the bath with a satisfying sound that he allowed to fill his senses. Even so, even as he tried not to think, he couldn’t help but, thoughts and memories pushing themselves to the forefront of his mind.

  He thought and he realised that he wasn’t all so horrified about his decisions and actions the night before. Remembering the red eyes and broken look of the boy, of Todd, he couldn’t be. The knife that he had placed on the windowsill, the knife that was now sat in his bedside draw. They had talked late into the night, Peter arriving home half hour after curfew even though he had only been sat two blocks away.

  Todd had been interesting. He was funny even though he was obviously nervous, it showed as he played with his hands just like Peter did. Todd didn’t have friends, was an outsider at his school and Peter could relate, told him so. Even then after revealing himself, Peter had the presence of mind to keep details about himself minimal, letting Todd do the talking. Of course, if they were going to have this friendship, Peter would have to open up eventually, but he had to know if he could really trust Todd first.

  He was still thinking about it all, how he wanted to go ahead and what not, when he got a text from Happy telling him that he had arrived downstairs.

  After the whole Vulture thing and getting the suit back, Peter had stopped texting Happy, knowing that if he stopped annoying Tony Stark’s personal bodyguard it might fare better for him in terms of keeping the suit this time. He was doing a lot now to try and not annoy Happy or Mr Stark, he knew how annoying he was and that wasn’t good around a literal superhero.

  Usually, actually getting into the car with Mr Stark’s bodyguard didn’t stop Peter from running his mouth. He couldn’t help it, it was his nature, he was a chatty character. Today though, he had different things to take up his time. Namely thoughts of Todd. The car door closed behind him and he greeted Happy before falling silent in his thoughts.

  Vaguely, he noticed Happy glancing at him in the rear view mirror, probably disconcerted at Peter’s lack of talk. The teen didn’t worry about it though, Happy may be confused but he definitely had to be pleased.

  All he could think about after was how he was going to go forward with his friendship with this new teen. He didn’t do this kind of thing ever, probably evidenced by his rather lacking friend group. What horrified him more however, was how his thoughts drifted to how Todd looked. Despite his fears, how close he had been to ending it all, he had been pretty. He had blue eyes beyond the red rimming them, a light blue with mottles of darker blue and silver-white, they had been so unique. His hair was curly, dark brown to the point where it looked black, a strong jaw and defined cheek bones. He was exactly Peter’s type and that made it all the worse.

  He had been maybe, probably, thinking about talking to Mr Stark about the whole _I like boys and girls_ business but he had been scared. He and Mr Stark spent a lot of time together and- although he would _never_ voice this- had come to see the man as a kind of father figure. May knew about his preferences, had done for years since he had realised this and come to her. She had been the one that suggested that Peter talked to Mr Stark about it after they had somehow gotten into a conversation in which it came out that the billionaire didn’t know.

  The thing was, Mr Stark often made jokes about finding him the perfect girl and Peter couldn’t shake the feeling that he would be disappointing his mentor if he found the perfect guy. Now though, Peter wasn’t sure which one would disappoint Mr Stark more, the reveal to a stranger or the attraction to boys.

  Before he knew it, the car was pulling up at the compound, Peter hastily opening the door and slipping out. In all honesty, the air in the car was tense and awkward, the teen glad to be able to escape.

  He no longer needed Happy to escort him to the lab and to Mr Stark, not now that he had his pass that allowed him even more clearance that the Avengers themselves- they weren’t allowed down into Tony Stark’s lab. Peter was very grateful now, leaving the awkwardness behind.

  “Hey Mr Stark,” Peter greeted as he reached the lab.

  “Hey kid,” the man returned, turning from his current project to smile at Peter.

  _Great_ , Peter thought as his anxiety rocketed just at that smile.

***

  They worked in a strange silence that day, Peter too preoccupied with trying to keep his thoughts on the task at hand and not on Todd. Thankfully, the thoughts about how hot the other teen was had faded away and was just replaced with worry. He hoped that the boy wouldn’t so anything before Peter next got to see him.

 “Hey kid, what’s upset you?” Mr Stark asked, suddenly breaking the quiet.

  “Huh, I’m not upset?” Peter tried to say confidently but it was more like a question in reality.

  “Yeah you are, genius remember,” the inventor pointed out, poking Peter in the shoulder.

  By this point, they were stood across from each other, well Peter was leaning against the work counter and Mr Stark was standing across from him, arms crossed.

  “I um…” oh fuck it, might as well tell part of the truth, “I saved this kid last night.”

  “Yeah?” the older man pressed when the words got caught in his throat.

  “Yeah, from himself. He was going to slit his wrists. His eyes- he was so scared Mr Stark and he didn’t have anyone and he just wanted to die. He’s sixteen like me,” Peter choked out, scrubbing brutally at his eyes as he felt tears spill out. This was so embarrassing.

  “Oh Pete,” Mr Stark sighed, stepping forward and wrapping him in a hug.

  They did this sometimes now, the hugs. Mr Stark would throw an arm around his shoulders when they were walking or when they were watching a movie, full on hugs would happen when they said goodbye after a weekend of inventing. Every time, Peter revelled in the touch, never sure if this would be the last time.

  This hug was different though. This was for comfort and Peter allowed himself to just melt into the touch.

  “After Uncle Ben died I… I wanted to die. Almost did it but then May would have no one. This kid doesn’t have anyone like May,” Peter whispered into the man’s shoulder.

  “Pete… I didn’t know you ever felt that way,” Tony Stark breathed out and Peter mentally kicked himself, Mr Stark would now think him even weaker than ever now.

  The man didn’t pull away in disgust though, just held him tighter if anything.

  “Well you have me now too Peter, okay,” Mr Stark said into his hair. It was quiet and for a minute Peter thought he had misheard.

  “Thanks Mr Stark,” he choked out, full of emotion.

  “Yeah, just, you know, get into the habit of calling me Tony.”

  “Okay T-Tony.”


	3. Of Course Peter

  Peter and Mr Stark had worked tirelessly through that evening, only stopping when Mr Stark ordered pizza. The entire evening Peter struggled to call Mr Stark Tony, stumbling over the name, each time the hero smiling at him like he was adorable or something which was embarrassing. Keeping his mind otherwise occupied was a good way to push Todd out of it for the moment at that least.

  He knew that he was staying the night though and eventually, Tony called it quits and dragged the pair of them upstairs to have a movie before bed. They settled down with popcorn and soda, Tony pulling Peter into his side as the film started to play on the huge television screen. Peter couldn’t supress a smile, snuggling further into his mentor’s- and in his head father figure’s- side. This whole not being an annoying little shit had really worked wonders on their relationship although he could still see Tony shifting when he talked too much. There were always things that he would have to improve to make himself good enough for this relationship or whatever it was.

  Eventually though, it was time for bed. Peter was rubbing at his eyes tiredly by the time that the credits rolled up and Tony stretched beside him. The man smiled and bid him good night, the pair of them parting ways to their rooms that were only two doors apart- a fact that Peter sometimes wondered if it was deliberate on Tony’s part or not. He’d like to think it was.

  Regardless, he was getting ready for bed, brushing his teeth and washing his face before changing and crawling under the covers- Iron man ones that Tony had insisted on. It was as he was burying into his pillow that his thoughts turned to Todd after hours of being focused around Mr Stark. He looked over at his phone and suddenly he wished that he had given the teen his number if only that he could check on him, make sure that he was okay. He would have to do that tomorrow night when he went to visit. Because that was what friends did and he was Todd’s friend now.

***

  He had survived through the day, breakfast with Mr Sta- Tony and a few hours of tinkering in the lab before Happy drove him home. He had spent hours doing homework or tinkering in his room, looking at the clock the whole while to see if it would be a decent or acceptable time to go out on patrol. Usual he’d start around seven but he didn’t know if Todd would be home at that time or not.

  God, this was why he didn’t actively go about making friends, it was stressful. But Todd needed a friend and Todd seemed like he would be an interesting friend anyway.

  In the end, seven came around and he put the suit on, climbing out of the window as a habit not hiding from May any longer. Swinging around, Peter patrolled and really for once just procrastinated. He did start to get into it however when he stopped a robbery, two men trying to get a woman’s purse in a dark alley way- you know, the stereotypical stuff.

  When he asked Karen for the time and got the reply of ten Peter decided that it was definitely time. So, with only a moment of hesitation, Peter upped from his current rooftop and swung across town to the window that he had first crawled through two days ago. He was trying to mentally prepare himself for whatever thing he was about to walk- crawl- into.

  Finally setting down on the fire escape, Peter peered into Todd’s bedroom to see the guy lying on his bed, back to the window. For one horrible moment, Peter thought he may be dead, that Peter not being there the night before had been it, but then he saw Todd’s side rise and fall with his breath and the worry was gone.

  Peter knocked on the window, Todd jumping at the sound and turning over, Peter then waving as Todd’s face broke out in a huge grin. The boy jumped up and Peter smiled behind the mask at the enthusiasm in which he opened the window and let Spider-man in. Of course, Todd couldn’t see that and to be honest Peter was glad. The boy looked so much hotter when he was smiling without red eyes or the sadness clouding his expression and Peter knew that his expression was one of a stupid teen boy with a stupid, inappropriate crush.

  As soon as he had schooled his expression, Peter pulled off the mask, setting down lightly on the carpet. Almost instantly, Todd was pulling him into a hug, one which was unexpected and pinned his arms to his sides making it so that he was rigid and couldn’t reciprocate. That was probably why Todd quickly pulled back, eyes wide with horror.

  “I’m so sorry, that was inappropriate,” Todd rushed.

  “Oh no man, I just didn’t expect it and you kind of pinned my arms,” Peter smiled.

 He reached out with one hand and pulled Todd back in for a proper hug, the teen melted in his arms and Peter could feel him smile against his neck. It was nice, special, the kind of hug that he didn’t get with Ned, he knew that Todd was taking comfort from this.

  “Hey so I was thinking last night that we didn’t swap numbers, that’s something that friends do right?” Peter smiled nervously, flapping his hands awkwardly at his side.

  “Wow, do you know how crazy it is that Spider-man is here in my room and is so relatable?” Todd smirked. He needed to not do that because that was more than a little attractive and God, Peter was blushing again.

  “Yeah well, just a teenager that got lucky really. I’m the school nerd, nerdy Peter Parker that’s me,” Peter said, then wincing as he realised that he had just given Todd his surname.

  Todd seemed to have noticed it because he smiled in an apologetic way before gesturing for them to sit on the bed. Peter flopped down gratefully, crossing his legs under him and smiling at Todd as the boy did the same sat across from him.

 The other boy reached across Peter, arm brushing against his side, as his hand went to his beside table. He drew back with his phone in his hand, opening it up and handing it over to Peter with his number displayed on the screen. The hero took the devise smiling at the thought of establishing constant contact with this other boy.

  Peter slipped back on the mask, asking Karen to record the number to his contacts, taking it back off and handing the phone back to his new friend. Said new friend with his jaw on the floor.

  “Wh- oh. Oh sorry, Karen’s the AI in my suit. Mr Stark made my suit and he’s all for that kind of thing,” Peter explained.

  “What so you really do know Iron Man? That’s so cool!” Todd exclaimed.

  “Yeah, he saw me on YouTube as Spider-man and well I don’t know how he tracked me down, I just walked in one day from school and he was sat there with my aunt,” Peter smiled, remembering that moment.

  “Oh right. Hey um, you said the other day that you only had one person left but I kind of assumed that it was one of your parents like me, but you live with your aunt?” Todd asked, leaning forward slightly.

  “Yeah. Um, my parents died when I was young and I then went to live with my aunt and uncle,” Peter told him, “Um, I’m saying a lot, can I trust you not to tell anyone?”

  With that question he reached out and placed a hand on Todd’s chest near his heart, ready to feel his heartbeat to tell if the teen’s next words were a lie or not. Todd for his part looked down at the hand in confusion but didn’t shift away, just looking back up at Peter with those piercing blue eyes.

  “Of course Peter, I really want to be friends with you, I don’t want to jeopardise that,” Todd said, his heart telling Peter it was the truth while his own heart swelled at hearing his name on the other’s lips.


	4. Half Truths

  It had been three weeks, three weeks of knowing Todd and the crush had not gone away. In fact it got more intense every time he saw the other teen. They had started hanging out more, Peter having actually told Ned about him- not the suicidal part just that he had met a boy through Spider-maning. The two of them were hanging out as just Peter and Todd more and more, Peter turning up at the front door with his school bag and notes more often than at the window in his suit.

  Todd wasn’t the best when it came to chemistry but Peter put that down to him hating school because of the bullies. When Peter sat down with him and explained his homework and his textbooks, the other teen got things so quickly. There was even one time that Peter had looked up only to see the other boy staring at him in awe, it was that moment that Peter first really had to fight the urge to kiss him.

  They didn’t just study together though, often, especially when Peter swung by in his suit, they would watch movies together on Todd’s laptop. The first time they did it, Todd and he had only sat a respectable distance apart but by this point, three weeks in, they were curling right into each other, sprawled on the bed. Peter loved that he could be so close, that he could feel the other’s heart beating as proof that Peter had saved him and he was still alive.

  When they weren’t hanging out together they were always texting, talking easily with each other as if they had known each other forever and not just a couple of weeks. That was yet another reason that his crush only grew.

  Still, Mr- Tony, he still hadn’t fully formed the habit of calling his mentor by his first name, didn’t know about his new friendship. Some days he wondered if he would have told Mr Stark his choice if it wasn’t for the massive crush he had for this other boy.

  He supposed for a normal teenager getting a new friend wasn’t such a big deal but when you were a loser like Peter was two people that you regularly texted your own age, it was probably a big deal. It certainly was to Peter at least. It also seemed that it was to Tony as well.

  Peter was currently hanging out at the Avengers compound, the other Avengers all present. He was very conscious of the people around him as he had been ever since the Civil War.  Tony may have brought them back into his life but Peter had been there to see the broken looks and the distant gazes where the inventor would just leave the room. Of course, a reaction like that was pretty damn called for when the group of people you called family betrayed you.

  Thus, Peter was rather cautious and not by a long shot ready to trust the other’s around him but rather prepared to sit politely while Mr Stark was still happy. He was doing just that today, a Friday, a Friday that he was meant to have a lab day followed by a weekend stay at the compound. The Avengers hadn’t been around much since the “falling out” so Peter hadn’t realised that they would all be there this weekend. It was okay though, they just thought that he was Tony Stark’s very clever intern.

  In that very moment, Peter was sat on the couch with Sam and Bucky as they all prepared for a movie night. There was a free space on Peter’s other side that Tony had called for- Peter was more than grateful for that- but was at this moment he was in the kitchen getting popcorn.

  The teen had been doing homework at the island in the kitchen before and had obviously left his phone there with his books after movie time had been declared. Peter hadn’t realised this but he soon did when he heard it ding. Looking around, he saw Tony pick up the device and look at the lit up screen.

  “Hey Pete, who’s Todd? He’s asking if you can meet up tomorrow,” Tony read out.

  Ah shit. Maybe Tony wouldn’t be too pleased that he was revealing his secret identity to strangers.

  “Oh right thanks, Todd’s someone I study with,” Peter lied, taking the phone with a smile as his mentor crossed the room to pass it to him.

  “Well you going to go, you don’t have to stay cooped up here all weekend?” Tony asked with a hand on Peter’s shoulder- the teen had a horrible feeling that the man didn’t buy his lie.

  “Yeah maybe later on,” Peter replied instead.

  That was that, at least that was what Peter thought. They watched the movie, Tony sat beside him, and afterwards it was time for bed. Peter was climbed into bed and settled under the covers, opening up his texts.

_Can we meet tomorrow? I need to see you._

  Shit. If Todd needed to see him then that meant that he was having a low and he needed the comfort of his friendship with Peter. That was reason number one why Peter felt so guilty over his crush, felt like he was taking advantage.

  _Yeah, of course Todd, I’m at the compound now but I’ll see you promise- was having movie night so sorry for the late reply._ He responded, sighing and staring at the previous text. If they just messaged now then maybe Todd would be okay.

_Thank you Peter._

_No problem, any time. What friends are for._ Friends. If only it was something more.

  It was at that point that there was a knock on his door, soft and yet firm. Peter hastily shut of his phone and put it back on the bedside table before calling for whoever it was to enter.

  The door opened and there was Mr Stark. The man smiled and closed the door behind him, coming over and sitting down on the edge of Peter’s bed. There was an awkward moment- or at least it was for Peter because he didn’t think that Mr Stark was capable of feeling awkward- but that ended when Tony spoke.

  “So who is this Todd anyway?” he asked. Okay, maybe they should go back to silence.

  “He’s no one Mr Stark really,” Peter almost begged.

  “Tony, kid. And we both know that’s bullshit,” Mr- Tony reprimanded.

  “Okay, he um… do you remember the kid I told you about that tried to kill himself?” Peter asked after a long moment.

  “That him?” Tony replied.

  “Yeah. Look Mr Sta- Tony, he knows who I am but I can trust him. I can tell when people lie you see and he really needed someone to be his friend,” Peter rushed- no going back now.

  “Okay, okay Pete. Just… is he nice, a good friend or a real douchebag?” Tony asked.

  “He’s nice, he’s the best,” Peter replied, looking away as relief flowed through him at the lack of yelling or reprimanding going on at this moment.

  “Okay, that’s good. God knows you don’t have enough friends. Meet up with him tomorrow and have a good time but watch the identity thing and don’t make this a habit okay,” Tony said, pushing up from the bed and making his way over to the door.

  “Okay Tony, I won’t,” Peter promised.

  “Good, now night kid, sleep well.”

  “Night Tony.”


	5. Heart to Heart

  Peter had been up since six this morning, unable to get back to sleep for worry over his friend. Of course though, when Todd had asked him to come around “tomorrow” he hadn’t meant at a stupid hour. He really didn’t want to jeopardise their friendship by crossing a line like that. And so Peter didn’t make his way over to Todd’s apartment straight away, didn’t for many hours even.

  He paced and worried and attempted homework, shutting himself away from the rest of the Avengers to save them looking at him like he was crazy. The teen still couldn’t quite believe that Tony hadn’t ripped into him because of his friendship with this other boy. Oh if only he knew what Peter really felt. He wasn’t stupid, he knew that Mr Stark wouldn’t cut him out for being gay or bisexual or whatever but he would treat him differently. He probably wouldn’t want to touch Peter anymore, wouldn’t want to be as close, he knew from experiences in school that people were no longer as comfortable around him once they knew.

  Finally, when nine thirty came around to find Peter stir crazy, working out the worst scenarios in his mind, he sent off a quick text to Todd to tell him he was on his way over. He packed books into his bag just in case they got to studying and swung it over his shoulder before leaving his room. The teen practically flew through the corridors to the elevator. He got a few weird looks from the Avengers bar Tony who smirked and told him to “have fun”.

  Peter had briefly considered taking the Spider-man route through the city, swinging from building to building but had quickly got rid of that notion. All of his visits to Todd as Spider-man had been at night, in broad daylight it might be a bit dodgy for him, a masked man- well man to the public- to be crawling in through the window to a teenage boy’s bedroom. He really didn’t want some newspaper to be labelling him as a creeper. Wouldn’t be good for heroing.

  Instead, Peter took the train like a normal citizen of New York. It was ridiculously slow to him, as worked up as he was. The entire journey, the teen hero bit his nails to nothing, a horrible nervous habit that he hated but couldn’t seem to stop. He was just too worried, he needed Todd to be okay.

  Eventually, after an age, the train pulled up t his stop, Peter practically sprinting off of the train and out of the station. He was too pent up and full of energy, jogging down the street, dodging people and through crowds as he made his way to the apartment. That brought him closer faster at least.

  Peter was finally there. He knocked firmly before stepping back to wait, chewing on his nails again before forcing himself to stop. What if he was too late and Todd had just been trying to be polite asking to see him the next day but he had really needed Peter in that moment?

  Then the door opened.

  There stood Todd, holding the door open and smiling fondly at Peter. Peter smiled back before pretty much leaping forward to hug the other boy. The affection seemed to be gratefully received, Todd hugging him straight back, tucking his chin into Peter’s neck.

  Once they had satisfied themselves, the two pulled apart and entered the apartment. The apartment was about the same size as Peter’s home but this one was in a lot worse of a condition. The wall paper was peeling and stained yellow from cigarette smoke- Todd didn’t smoke, that was all his mom- and the furniture was mismatched and full of holes. Peter had never been here at the same time as Todd’s mom when the woman hadn’t been passed out or hanging onto the edge of consciousness being too high or drunk. Passing through the living room, the woman didn’t disappoint, passed out and snoring on the couch. Peter couldn’t help the contempt that filled his heart looking at her and thinking of the ways that she treated her son.

  They reached Todd’s room, the door shutting behind Peter and he let all of the negative feelings go. Todd was a clean person and his room reflected that, a massive difference to the rest of the home. The room was certainly cleaner than Peter’s own and the teen could only respect his friend more for having this little bit of pride in amongst all of the shit that he had to live through.

  The pair of them flopped down on the bed, Peter making sure that he was close enough to Todd to be comforting but not too close as to be inappropriate. It was the thing that he hated about his crush, how conscious he was of his actions around the other teen. The moment that stretched out next for instance was nice to Peter but he cut it off, making sure it didn’t get weird.

  “What’s wrong Todd?” Peter asked quietly, turning on his side so he was facing the other boy.

  “It’s the anniversary of my dad’s death today,” the boy replied, turning on his side in the same way as Peter.

  Peter stared for a moment, of all the things they had talked about, they had never talked about Todd’s dad. All Peter knew of him was that he was dead. He didn’t know what to say then, didn’t know if he should just stay quiet and wait. He decided on the latter and it seemed to work as Todd began to speak again.

  “Things were different before he died. He was nice, good and my mom was happy. She smoked weed back then and sometimes they would have parties but they were good parents. He then got caught in the fire of a gang war, died right on the streets. Then mom turned into this and he was gone,” Todd said, quiet and slow, tears dripping down his face, over his nose and dropping down onto the pillow under his head.

  Peter let out a shaky breath, shuffling forward and wrapping his arms around the other teen, holding him close. He stayed there like that as Todd wrapped his arms around Peter in return, fingers gripping tight to the back of the hero’s shirt. The tears escalated to sobs, Todd’s entire body shaking in Peter’s arms and Peter only held on tighter, trying not to cry himself but eventually failing on that front.

  Eventually, the forced of Todd’s tears quietened and he pulled away, wiping his eyes on his sleeve. The other teen took in deep, shuddering breaths before looking back at Peter.

  “What happened to your parents and uncle Peter? If you don’t mind,” he said eventually.

  “My parents died in a plane crash when I was little and when I was fourteen my uncle… he tried to stop a robbery and was shot,” Peter said, breathing out and reaching to smooth a hand down Todd’s arm. He quickly removed the hand when he realised what he was doing however, the gesture may come across as a bit too strange.

  “How did you feel when you found out?” Todd asked quietly, moving ever so slightly closer.

  “When I found out about my parents I was staying with May and Ben. I was devastated but they helped me. When Ben died… when he died I was there. I held him, so I um- you know,” Peter trailed off, rubbing his hands almost viciously over his eyes to stop the tears- this wasn’t about him.

  “Peter,” Todd breathed, pulling Peter close in the reverse of the hug Peter had initiated.

  The stayed like that for a long moment where Peter allowed himself to revel in the warmth of his friend’s embrace. They of course had to pull apart but they didn’t get very far. Todd’s arms were still wrapped around him but one hand was on Peter’s face and then Todd was kissing him.

  Todd was kissing him full on the mouth and Peter froze because he was not expecting that.

  Because Peter froze, Todd pulled back. As in, pulled back and pretty much ripped himself out of Peter’s arms to jump off of the bed. The boy turned away and refused to look at Peter. Peter for his part was stunned, he couldn’t believe that Todd had done that, didn’t really understand why. But it was nice and Peter wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth so he had to do something.

  “That was- that was nice,” yeah, smooth Peter, way to make Todd want to kiss him again.

  Todd’s head snapped up at those words and despite how truly awfully awkward those words were. Peter let out a sigh when the other teen met his eyes, relieved, but then realised that he was still sprawled rather ungracefully on the bed and scrambled to sit up.

  “Nice?” Todd asked, his voice sounded weak.

  “Yeah,” Peter replied, face bright red.

  “So if I were to do it again…”

  “If you were to do it again I’d very much not oppose that and definitely be very pleased yeah um, I’m going to shut up now,” Peter rambled, crossing his arms over his chest embarrassed when he realised.

  Todd didn’t seem to mind though because he was in fact beaming. Then he was striding over to the bed, climbing onto the bed and Peter had time this time to prepare himself as the other grabbed his face and kissed him. Peter had kissed people before, not many and never gone further than kissing but all of his other kisses didn’t compare to this. As cliché as that sounded it was true.


	6. The Girl

  Peter couldn’t help it, truly he had tried. He had tried to stop smiling like a love sick puppy but he _was_ a love sick puppy and there was no longer a hope for him. He had spent the entire day with Todd the day before despite it being an Avenger’s weekend, Tony had only texted once to make sure that everything was okay with his friend. Replying with a simple “all’s good” seemed like the biggest understatement ever because good just didn’t cut it.

  That night he had fallen asleep with Todd, in Todd’s be under the covers and wrapped up in the other teen’s arms. They had kissed each other, deep and slow with tongue and just sweet pecks. Neither pressed to go further, there was no build up of hormones or insane rutting, it was all sweet, comforting and full of love.

  He was now walking back to the Avengers tower so that he could spend some actual time with his mentor, the memory of his goodbye with Todd fresh. The smile that had lit up those blue eyes was the best thing that Peter had ever seen and they had parted with a gentle peck and quiet goodbye.

  Reaching the common area and still looking like that puppy naturally got him questions. Or more accurately, teased. Mr Stark had come in from the kitchen when he heard Peter enter- or FRIDAY had informed him- and taken one look at Peter and sniggered to himself.

  “Who’s the girl Pete, spill,” he’d chortled as he’d walked over to clap the teen on the back.

  Well other than gender he had it spot on… may as well.

  “Someone special,” he replied with a girl.

  “Oh, we have a special night last night?” the man winked at Peter.

  “No Mr Stark! That’s- no. We just cuddled!” Peter exclaimed. Truth was, not having the experience around someone as notorious as Tony Stark and then having said man making jokes made him feel kind of inadequate. Which was stupid because it was just sex.

  “Yeah okay, sorry and it’s Tony kid, come on,” Tony grinned.

  “Okay Tony. God knows you don’t deserve the respect of Mr Stark after that,” Peter quipped.

  “Why you little shit,” Tony sighed, mock hurt on his face as a hand clapped over his chest.

  “Hey come on Tony, he’s a kid,” Steve said, entering the room just at that moment.

  “Yeah, a kid that goes to high school and hears a hell of a lot worse every day,” Tony snorted before moving away from Peter and gesturing for the teen to follow.

***

  The two of them spent the entire day down in the labs tinkering just as Peter thought they would. This day however was dispersed with Tony trying to wheedle information out of Peter on who this “girl” was. The inventor seemed to think that if he asked questions at odd times to catch Peter off guard then he would get more than the teen hero was giving.

  Naturally, this topic was making Peter steadily more and more uncomfortable. Every time that Tony asked who _she_ was or who _her_ favourite Avenger was Peter felt ill. The man could simply never be as easy going around Peter if he knew, he wouldn’t be able to tease him about girls he may like or anything like that. Everything would be stilted and awkward and it would be all Peter’s fault.

  The guilt made him answer if not vaguely. No she wasn’t from school, no it hadn’t been going on long, Tony I’ve never asked about the Avengers but Spider-man has to be her favourite.

  Needless to say he wasn’t smiling the same way when they came up for dinner- something that Peter had been able to train into Tony and was so far his greatest achievement. The teen was terrified that Tony would continue asking questions in front of the rest of the team during the meal, didn’t think that he could take the whole team knowing. Luckily, Tony didn’t, nothing was said and Peter made it out the other side alive.

  The subject wasn’t brought up again until Peter was getting ready for bed. He had just come back from brushing his teeth to find Tony sat on his bed. The sight made him hesitate, Tony couldn’t be here to ask more questions. Not now right before bed.

  “Come here kid,” the man said, patting the bed besides him.

  Peter hesitated for another moment before finally stepping up to the other man, sitting a relative distance away from him and staring at his hands folded in his lap. Of course Tony didn’t allow the distance, pulling Peter closer to him with an arm around his shoulder until the teen was sat so their thighs were almost pressed together.

  “Look, Pete I’m sorry if I upset you. You seem really uncomfortable with this but it’s okay, natural even to be in a relationship at your age. I as the concerned parental figure just want to know the details, make sure you’re okay,” the inventor said, looking straight at Peter, the teen seeming unable to look away also.

  “Parental figure?” Peter asked.

  “Yeah of course you’d latch onto that,” Tony snorted, “seriously though kid, there is nothing to be ashamed off.”

  “I know Tony but it’s just new and I have no idea what’s happening. I don’t even know if we’re really dating or if it was little thing and even if we are then I don’t know if it’ll actually last or not,” Peter confessed.

  “You told me you just cuddled yesterday right. Went and met up with her and just hung out?” Tony asked.

  “Yeah and kissed you know but nothing more,” Peter nodded, cheeks reddening with embarrassment.

  “If you didn’t go further bud then I’m willing to say she’s interested in more than just a quick fuck,” Tony assured.

  “Thanks, I hope so,” Peter nodded, offering the older man a small smile.

  “How was your friend anyway?” the inventor asked, changing the subject smoothly.

  “He was good, it was the anniversary of his dad’s death. He was killed in the crossfire of a gang war when he was younger. His mom’s not really there for him so I just went round to give him a bit of support,” Peter explained.

  It was almost funny that Tony had used this to change the subject without realising that these two people were the same. Okay maybe it wasn’t funny. Not at all. They better never talk about this again else Peter is going to crack.


	7. That Other Guy

  Peter was guilty over hiding Todd from Tony only he wasn’t guilty like he supposed he should be. He wasn’t guilty in the sense that he had lied to his mentor, he felt bad for Todd as if by telling Tony he had been seeing this girl made Peter sound like he was ashamed. He wasn’t. He wasn’t ashamed at all of being bisexual or of Todd. Never Todd. Todd didn’t let many people close and he was so honoured that the other teen had let Peter close enough. Anyone that knew Todd like Peter did would fall for him, he had such a beautiful heart.

  He was going to see him now, it was Sunday evening and he had left for his patrol early so that he could spend a few hours with his boyfriend- he liked to think of it that way but he wouldn’t say it out loud- before actually being Spider-man. The nerves had reared up now that he was stood outside of the door having knocked and waiting.

  But then Todd opened the door. The other beamed as soon as he saw Peter, blue eyes lighting up, a slight strand of wavy hair fallen over his face. Peter of course smiled back, swallowing the nerves and stepping forward to tuck the hair back away from Todd’s face.

  Apparently this had been the right thing to do. Todd’s smile softened and he pulled Peter to him with an arm around his waist, kissing him softly there in the doorway. Peter breathed out as they broke apart, cuddling in slightly to the taller boy. They only stayed like that for a short moment however before pulling apart and actually entering the apartment.

  The pair of them went straight to Todd’s bedroom, his mother noticeably not there passed out somewhere in the rooms. As soon as they reached the room the pair of them flopped down on the bed where Todd immediately rolled on top of Peter. The pair of them just lay there making out, Todd lying over Peter while Peter wrapped his arms around the other’s back. It was still further than Peter had ever gotten with someone before and something was definitely taking interest. Then Tony’s reassurances came back to him, how Todd probably wanted more seeing as he hadn’t jumped Peter’s bones yet.

  That thought had Peter pulling away although that movement was probably best in the fact that he needed to breathe also. They lay there, looking at each other and Peter felt the sudden need to confess.

  “I didn’t tell Tony about us, I kind of let him go with the whole I spent the night cuddled up with a girl,” he blurted and yes, it was definitely a way to kill the mood.

  “Oh,” was all Todd said, he looked confused from where he was hovering above Peter on his elbows.

  “Not to say I’m ashamed or regret whatever is going on here. I just haven’t told anyone but MJ and Ned that I like guys,” Peter told him in a small voice.

  The teen hero held his breath and waited for rejection but then Todd smiled. It was a soft smile and the boy leaned down so that his forehead was pressed against Peter’s.

  “I get it Pete, I do. Don’t worry. Coming out is a scary thing, it’s not what people think of as normal to be attracted to the same gender,” Todd spoke quietly, pulling away again only to cup Peter’s face with one hand.

  Peter for his part was incredibly relieved. He brought one hand up Todd’s back, smoothing over the clothed flesh between the other’s shoulder blades before leaving it to rest on the back of Todd’s neck.

  “Have you ever told anyone?” Peter asked.

  “That I’m gay? The only people that know are you and the guy that took my virginity,” Todd smiled, “so you’re a braver man than me. Then again not surprising as you are a hero.”

  “You never talked about this guy,” Peter stated, blinking and taking in the information. He felt a lot calmer now but was curious about this new guy. They had never talked about sex before but it seemed kind of relevant now.

  “Why, jealous?” Todd smirked.

  Peter knew he was blushing so he took his free hand and lightly smacked Todd’s chest before using it to cover his face. He wasn’t jealous, Todd hadn’t been his when he had slept with this other dude and he probably wasn’t Peter’s even still, he had no right to be jealous. He wasn’t anyway for whatever reason but it was an embarrassing thought anyway.

   Todd chuckled and pulled his hand away so that Peter looked up to see his smiling face. It wasn’t mocking or anything, more fond.

  “John was his name. Three years older than us, it was two years ago. We fucked a couple of times but we weren’t boyfriends or anything,” Todd explained.

  “It’s okay, I’m really not jealous. You can sleep with whoever you want but you just hadn’t mentioned it before is all, I was curious,” Peter tried to reassure.

  “What I can still sleep with whoever I want?” Todd asked, his face crooked now in an unreadable half smile.

  “I-I mean yes if you want to, I can’t stop you,” Peter told him, clenching his jaw at the thought.

  “So what do you think is going on with us?” Todd asked, brows furrowed.

  “I mean I hope that it’s something but if you just want to have sex that’s fine I guess,” Peter said, proud of how calm his voice came out.

  “Okay. So if I asked you to be my boyfriend?” Todd asked.

  “I’d have to think about it,” Peter smirked, happy beyond words at the thought.

  “Oh you would? Well how can I persuade you?” Todd smiled slyly, moving to kiss along Peter’s neck.

  Peter gasped, his hand on Todd’s (his boyfriend’s!) neck tightened minutely before he relaxed. He had to be careful, really careful and he realised that now all of a sudden. Super strength probably wasn’t a gift in bed.

  “Hey you have had sex before right? And you do want it?” Todd asked, raising his mouth away from Peter’s skin.

  “Um, no I haven’t but I d-do want to with you,” Peter confessed, face burning red.

  “Well then I’ll make this good for your first time, I promise,” Todd smiled wolfishly at him, looking all to pleased that he would be Peter’s first.

  He went straight back to kissing Peter’s neck then. He was only there for a moment though before he was backing up and pulling up Peter’s shirt. Peter got the memo quickly, helping before going for Todd’s shirt too. He had scars from Spider-man, knife wounds and scrapes from falls, but Todd had scars from his own life.

  He had a bottle scar from where his mother had gotten really drunk and cut him with the broken glass, slashing wildly. It was a set of thick scars on his abdomen that stood out white against Todd’s skin to match the thin lines that decorated the teen’s upper arms. The lines like those that Peter had on his thighs, the ones that he had never told Todd about explicitly.

  That was why Peter tensed somewhat when the pair lost their pants. Peter’s boxers had ridden up on one leg and Todd stopped as soon as he saw them. The teen’s fingers ghosted over Peter’s thighs, tracing the scars delicately.

  “It wasn’t about me. I found you in a bad way and I couldn’t give you my problems to deal with too,” Peter explained quickly before Todd’s mind could fabricate anything negative like Peter not trusting him.

  “Oh Pete. Not anymore okay. We’re boyfriends now so we share okay?” Todd said, eyes flicking between the scars and Peter’s face.

  “Okay, I promise,” Peter could only smile at the use of their new relationship title.

  Todd smiled back at him before he ducked his head and Todd was kissing his scars. It escalated quicker from there, Todd prepping and then sliding into Peter. They fucked slow and tender, Todd leaning down low over Peter so that he could kiss him, Todd caressing Peter’s scars and Peter Todd’s.

  He had been more than slightly nervous to have sex and disappoint Todd but it felt so good. They were both moaning quietly into each other’s mouths and came together, panting and holding each other. Afterwards they just kissed and held each other tight. Todd rolled off of Peter and pulled the covers up around them.

  Peter didn’t go on patrol that night.


	8. The Mark

    Peter went to school the next day to getting a few odd looks. He hadn’t noticed anything up, May hadn’t mentioned anything that morning although she had been in a rush. Then there was Flash, sauntering up and smirking at him.

  “What did you have to pay the poor sod that gave you that then Penis?” the bully sneered nastily, pointing at Peter’s neck.

  The teen felt himself blushing furiously as he clapped a hand over his neck. Was there a hickey or something there? He didn’t say anything to Flash, just hurried off, turning into the first bathroom and heading straight to the mirror. He removed his hand and sure enough, there was a nice deep bruise that sat just above his collar.

  “Oh shit,” Peter breathed.

  It wasn’t like he regretted last night, there was no way he could. Last night had been amazing, Todd had held him close, they had kissed sloppily the entire time and- as horribly cheesy as it sounded- it was love making not just fucking. He would never regret last night but that didn’t mean that he wanted people knowing what he had done, it was a private thing.

  The placement off it meant that he couldn’t even hide it and he hadn’t spotted it before he left the apartment that morning so he hadn’t covered it with concealer like he did with Spider-man related bruises. But then Todd must have noticed… which is why the bastard had smirked and kissed his neck before kissing him properly goodbye early that morning. The little shit. Peter would have to pay him back.

 _Thanks for the mark bastard_ Peter sent a quick text off to said culprit before sighing and making his way back out of the bathroom into bustling corridors.

  His phone buzzed in his pocket just as he reached the locker, he opened it to find a winky face emoji in answer with three kisses. The text made him smile and his heart ache in the best way, wanting to be able to give his boyfriend- yes he could really actually call him that- a physical kiss right now.

  “Hey Peter,” he was greeted, turning to see Ned there.

  The message had made him forget the mark on his neck and his friend zeroed in on it instantly. His eyebrows raised and his mouth fell open before Peter was once again turning and rubbing a self conscious hand over the bruise.

  Of course Peter had told his best friend about Todd. It was a source of gossip that was away from Spider-man and the Avengers- neither being new news for a long while- and Peter would have had to tell someone as dear to him as Ned about his crush. It was like a law between friends. Ned had also been the one that Peter had told- the only one he had told- about the day before last when Todd had kissed him. And so of course Ned knew exactly who had put the hickey on Peter’s neck.

  “Did you two do it?” He asked in an incredulous stage whisper.

  “Yes,” Peter replied weakly, blush spreading further.

  “W-well was it you know, good?” Ned asked seeming half embarrassed himself but more curious.

  “Yeah it was,” Peter smiled shyly.

  “Good for you man,” was the reply.

  “Thanks.”

  That was the last that they talked about it. In fact that was the last that Peter heard of it. Really, in a building full of teenagers, he wasn’t even the only one walking around with such a mark and in class he just made sure that he shoulders were closer to his ears than usual.

  In that way, by the time school was out, the hickey wasn’t on Peter’s mind anymore. The teen bounced down the steps and up to the sleek car that Happy was waiting in to bring him to the tower. He got in and greeted the man before falling silent. In the past he had talked the man’s ear off but in recent weeks he had realised that he really had to do everything he could not to piss anyone off if he wanted to be kept around. Even if Tony was fond of him now there was going to be a point where that would wear off.

  _Hey do you like boys and girls or just boys?_ Peter texted Todd, suddenly curious. The two of them texted regularly since they had started their friendship but it had all been mindless chatter or something to do with school work. Now though, Peter felt confident that it wouldn’t be overstepping to ask more personal questions.

  _Just dudes. What about you?_ Came the reply a moment later.

  _Both_

_Ooo keeping the options open!_

  Peter sent a laughing emoji back to that and smiled down at his phone. He couldn’t wait to see his new boyfriend again in person even though they had been together just that morning.

  They finally drew up to the tower and Peter got out with a thank you. Happy cast him a curious glance but then he had been ever since the teen had elected for the non-annoying kid protocol to keep him their good books.

  He was so glad today that they were at the tower and not the compound where all the Avengers would be. They were awesome and all but Peter had to be cautious around them, both with the secret identity thing and being polite and nice and it was just too draining to think about today. So when he entered the tower it was to go straight to Tony’s labs.

  The teen entered, smiling happily at his mentor who saw him smiled and then smirked. That was when Peter finally remembered the hickey. Turning red for seemingly the thousandth time today, Peter ducked his head and made his way over to his work space.

  “This girl and you more serious then Pete?” Tony smirked.

  “Yeah I guess,” Peter muttered, unable to meet Tony’s eye.

  “Popped the cherry then last night?” the older man asked, mirth clear in his voice.

  “Tony!” Peter exclaimed, his face so hot that he thought he was going to burst into flames.

  The inventor chuckles but thankfully turned away back to his own project. The evening continued and only the occasional jab was added in but it was enough to keep Peter on his toes.

  “Remember to wear protection. I can’t go paying for any little spider babies,” Tony smirked after he’d pulled back from their goodbye hug.

  “Will do sir,” Peter muttered, cheeks red again. At least babies wouldn’t be an issue in his new relationship. There were perks to being attracted to the same sex.


	9. Promise

  They were on a mission, an important one. Well an important one for Peter anyway because he was actually allowed to be involved. This mission was based right there in New York city so when he was called up he was able to arrive on the scene within quarter of an hour, swinging through the buildings.

  The problem was Hydra. The organisation of neo-Nazi douchebags had fallen into hard times it would seem since SHEILD had fallen and this appeared to be one last ditch attempt to screw things over. An army of a couple of hundred Hydra soldiers were invading the city, destroying everything that they came across.

  None of these soldiers were enhanced, rather just men and women in uniform. Still, the numbers meant that the Avengers had a hell of a time rounding them up. Peter swung in to the battle in chaos. The team was handling things awfully well considering how outnumbered they were, they were spread out, incapacitating the soldiers and leaving them for the police.

  The teen had come straight from Todd’s house, the two of them having been cuddled up on his bed together. It had been two weeks now since Todd had taken Peter’s virginity and they were going stronger than ever. They had sex often now but it wasn’t all the time, they often- like today- just lay together and watched a movie, cuddling close. Peter still helped Todd with homework assignments that he was struggling on and Ned had even met him. The three of them had convened at Peter’s place, both his best friend and boyfriend taking an instant liking to each other. They even had a group chat now with MJ added in.

  In all, Peter was very happy right now, he had sussed falling into the background so as not to annoy any Avengers while still helping Tony in the labs. This mission was just making things better.

  Or well he thought it would.

  Adrenaline was pumping through his veins as he webbed up Hydra scum but all the while he could hear the panicked wails of civilians caught up in the conflict. The adrenaline while good for keeping him on his toes always made his senses more acute, his hearing right now picking up all the sounds of distress in the city around him.

  So Peter wasn’t smiling or making quips like he usually did on patrols when facing criminals. Instead, he was stone faced and focused, making sure to capture any Hydra he could while grabbing any civilians he could and getting them out of the way. That was what Tony had told him to do and ever since that order Peter had suddenly felt the burning pressure to not screw up in front of all of the Avengers.

  That was why when Peter landed in the middle of the street right in front of a Hydra soldier only to get shot by one of his friends, the teen only struggled to muffle a grunt of pain and avoid having anyone ask. It was only a bullet through the leg, he had had worse before and Tony was none the wiser.

  “It seems you have been shot again Peter, do you want me to inform Mr Stark?” Karen asked in his ear.

  “You know the answer to that Karen,” he huffed out, briefly turning off the comms.

  “I just wanted to make sure Peter.”

  “Thanks Karen, maybe next time hey.”

  After that and catching his breath, Peter quickly took down the three soldiers that had surrounded him and took a moment to be pleased about how disjointed the army had become. Next step was to swing out of the way to the safety of a nearby roof top and deal with his predicament. By that he meant that he webbed up the wound to stop the blood that was oozing out at an unhealthy rate before he dove back into the battle.

  His team needed him.

  Luckily for Peter, things cooled down pretty quickly after that. The last Hydra soldiers were incapacitated and Steve called the group together.

  As it turned out, Peter had been a little way away from the rest of them so by the time that he landed next to Tony, the press had already crowded around. Normally that would have been a problem for Peter but right now it meant that everyone was too distracted to notice his leg- which Peter knew Tony would notice in an instant otherwise.

  The pap just kept getting closer in, cameras flashing as they got to see the whole Avengers team in one place. Peter’s claustrophobia started to play up at the close press, the lights of the cameras too bright and the sounds of the journalists too loud as they shouted over each other to get their questions heard.

  Tony had obviously noticed this as he had wrapped an arm around Peter’s shoulder, the contact initially making the teen jump. The group had started to push through the crowd towards the quinjet that was waiting for them. It was then that the unthinkable happened.

  One of the journalists reached up and pulled the mask from Peter’s head, the press and the overstimulation making it so that the hero didn’t notice until it was too late. He noticed for sure however when everything got brighter without the mask’s lenses controlling it and as the cold air hit his face. Cameras flashed more incessantly and the noise grew even louder as yet more questions were screamed, their subject now turning to Peter’s identity.

  He immediately buried his face in Tony’s side who had stepped out of his armour some point just before Peter had arrived. It was at that point that his mentor noticed what had happened, the man pulling away- initially causing Peter to panic- only to take of his jacket and throw it over Peter’s head before pulling him back close.

  He yelled angrily at the crowd about how there would be repercussions, about respecting privacy but Peter didn’t catch the exact words as a buzzing sounded in his ears. Fuck fuck fuck fuck. No, this couldn’t be happening. The world couldn’t know who he was, that wasn’t possible. This couldn’t be happening.

  They were still moving but he couldn’t see past Tony’s jacket, instead leaning into his mentor and trusting the older man to guide him. Peter instantly knew when they had reached the quinjet, the doors closing and the sound of the crowds being cut out before Tony pulled the jacket away.

  Peter stumbled and sat down heavily on one of the benches, burying his head in his hands. He could feel all of the Avengers watching him until Tony told them to “piss off” which didn’t even get a retort from Steve. They hadn’t known about him before, they had only known about nerdy Peter Parker Tony Stark’s intern. They were probably disgusted to know that they had been fighting alongside him all along.

  The teen felt a sob rising in his throat. What was he going to do? Everyone at school would know. Any of his enemies would and what happened if they targeted May. Maybe Ned. At least people didn’t know about Todd.

  He knew he was shaking badly, he knew that silent tears were sliding down his face and he knew that his leg hurt like a bitch and all of it just made him feel worse. He was so much of a screw up, he couldn’t fight the Hydra soldiers properly, he couldn’t even keep his identity safe.

  “Shh Peter, it’s going to be okay I promise. We’ll sort it out,” it was Tony, speaking softly.

  There was a hand on the back of his neck, another on his shoulder blade and someone pressing a kiss into his hair. Peter allowed himself to be pulled into the hug, hugs with Tony didn’t happen anywhere near as much as he would have liked but he didn’t deserve them. He didn’t deserve this one after how badly he had screwed up.

  “I promise Peter,” Tony whispered and Peter just sobbed.


	10. Insecurities

  Peter supposed he could class himself as despondent. The whole unmasking of Spider-man had occurred a couple of hours ago now and already he had been identified by the pictures taken. Said pictures were all over the news and his phone had been blowing up before he had turned it off. The Avengers had been dropped at the compound outside of the city before he and his mentor had flown back to the tower. Peter had been grateful not to be around the disapproving stares of the other heroes anymore, unable to cope with their disappointment anymore. Really he wished that Tony was there with him now but because this was all media and Tony’s area of expertise, the man had rushed off to sort it.

  All this left Peter alone, May had been phoned- not by Peter- to let her know of the situation but she was in work. She had been reassured that her nephew was fine and that she didn’t need to cut her shift short. Tony had arranged for their apartment to be packed up, moving everything into the tower for his and May’s own safety. It seems Tony knew Peter’s fears on Spider-man’s enemies targeting the Parkers.

  For his part, Peter hadn’t even removed his suit. He was just sat on his bed in the room that he used whenever he stayed over at the tower. The only thing missing was the mask that some reporter that had ruined Peter’s life had taken. And his leg hurt like a bitch.

  He’d been able to cover up the wound by ripping off the webbing and just pressing down on it while around everyone else but now he’s put it back on. He webbing was red now but all Peter could do was stare at it, knowing that he couldn’t tell anyone now especially after what had happened. He had screwed up enough in their eyes, this would be the tipping point. The bullet had gone through his leg though so he could just heal on his own anyway, no one need ever know, all there would be was a scar as a reminder of his blunder.

  The teen was still staring at his leg and not really having any presence which was why he didn’t notice Tony walking back in. As soon as he heard the door close Peter jumped and immediately pulling his knees up to his chin, wincing at the pain the sudden movement caused. Apparently, he had been too slow because Tony had that look on his face which meant that he had noticed and Peter had disappointed him again.

  The man strode up to him and gently took Peter’s leg, pulling it down. The teenaged hero couldn’t look at his mentor as he looked over the wound, afraid to see the anger there. He had let the man down enough today, no way would he want the Avengers to be associated with him after this and now Tony Stark was going to realise that he couldn’t even fight properly.

  A sob dragged itself up Peter’s throat and he quickly bit down on a fist, mortified to have made such a sound in front of his idol. Unable to even face the thought of looking at Tony, of having Tony look at him, Peter curled further in on himself. Arms crossed over the knee that Tony had let him keep folded, face pressed into them. The inventor still held his injured leg but he wasn’t exactly about to pull it away and risk either hurting Tony or making him even more angry.

  “Pete,” the word came out soft. Sad. Not angry. Still Peter couldn’t look up.

  The teen felt fingers threading through his hair, Tony smoothing his hand over Peter’s head, gentle and kind, comforting. He didn’t deserve it, knew that Tony was only doing this because he felt bad because Peter was crying. Still, he couldn’t bring himself to pull away.

  “Peter please look at me. We’ll work this out,” Tony spoke.

  He looked up because he mentor had asked him to although he still couldn’t bring himself to make eye contact. The teen remained curled into himself, the hand that the billionaire had stayed, the other moving up to grasp Peter’s shoulder.

  “This whole identity thing will be fine, I’ll make sure of it. Sure things will change with school and everything but I can keep you and May safe. Move you to the tower. Can keep those filthy paparazzi parasites away as well, I have too much experience with them. I promise okay Pete,” Tony implored, leaning in close, pulling Peter against his body.

  The boy went with it, body lax. He didn’t say anything in reply, he trusted Tony, knew that he would keep him safe. That wasn’t the problem though.

  “We need to talk about your leg though. Why you kept it secret. Perhaps why you have been pulling away from me. Happy’s noticed it too Pete, how quiet and subdued you are. I want to know why Pete, I’m here for you always, I want- I need- you to be okay,” Tony said after a moment of silence.

  Those words really hit Peter, he knew by now that he was trembling in his mentor’s arms but the man hadn’t moved away, hadn’t shown the slightest hint of disgust. He felt tears hot on his cheeks and knew that he couldn’t look at Tony right now yet also knew that he still needed to answer, that the older man would not leave it alone until he got one. So Peter opted for burying his face in Tony’s shoulder and wrapping his arms around him in turn before mumbling into the fabric of the inventor’s shirt.

  “I don’t want to disappoint you again. I love what you’ve given me and I don’t want you to have to take it away. I’m not… I’m quiet because it gets on your nerves when I get chatty and I didn’t tell you about my leg because I didn’t want you to know that I’m not good enough to fight besides you.”

  He felt Tony take in a sharp breath, the man’s arms tightening around him. Peter took that as a good sign, took it that he had done well, that the answer was one Tony had approved of. Perhaps this blunder could be over this once.

  “I’m sorry Peter,” Tony breathed then.

  “What?” Peter breathed, pulling back sharply and grimacing as he pulled the bullet wound.

  Tony was apologising. For what? Was he taking the suit away after all, kicking him off of the team?

  “You don’t need to change who you are Peter,” Tony said, “you don’t need to worry and walk on eggshells all the time, God kid I’m not going to cut you out for talking to much. And Peter, never hide an injury from me because you think I’ll be disappointed in you.”

  “Y-yes Mr- Tony, sorry,” Peter stumbled over his words. This was the best. This was the best thing he had ever heard.

  “No, Peter, I’m sorry that I ever made you feel that way,” Tony replied, leaning forward and placing a kiss in Peter’s hair. A kiss! In Peter’s hair!

  “Well I suppose I can forgive you,” Peter smiled.

  “Okay you little brat, up and we’ll get your leg looked at,” Tony chuckled wetly, pulling back and helping Peter to his feet.


	11. What I Need

_Pete, you know I’m here for you too._

  He couldn’t stop looking at it. It was a text from Todd. From his boyfriend. He had gotten it half hour ago, at ten o’clock. He was sat on his bed in his room in the tower, his new room, the one that he was now living in. It was a room that he had used most Friday evenings after intern sessions, it was full of things that made it looked lived in, made it look Peter’s, but now it didn’t feel anything but wrong.

  May and Tony were here, they were in the common area last that Peter knew. Two people in such a large space that was to now be his home. A normal teen’s dream. Peter’s dream under any other circumstance ever.

  Finally, with a shaky sigh, the teen stood up and stuffed his phone into his pocket. He needed his boyfriend, needed that person that was as far removed as possible from this world. He was the person that no one knew about, May thought that Todd was a passing friend, only Ned knew better. He needed to just get away for a little bit, surely not that many people would be able to see him and recognise him already. He would be fine. He just needed to get away.

  Without more than a moment’s hesitation, Peter made his way over to the door, through and down to the common area. He knew that he needed to tell his aunt or Tony just to make sure that they didn’t freak out if they found him gone but he didn’t revel in the prospect. What was he possibly going to say? He couldn’t just tell them the truth.

  Oh hell, there they were. The adults were both still where Peter had seen then last, sat on the couches, May reading her book and Tony on his Starkpad. Both of them looked up when he entered, both of them offered small smiles. It made him feel ill how they were, how it was like they were walking on glass. It’s why he needed to be gone, at least for a little while.

  “Hey Pete, what’s on your mind?” Tony asked then.

  Okay, it was time.

  “I just need to get out for a bit. See Ned or something, just something normal. People won’t really be able to recognise me I’m sure and I’ll be really careful and everything,” Peter rambled in rely, mentally kicking himself for how positively uncool he is.

  “Yes sweetie, that sounds okay with me. Can’t keep you cooped up forever and you have a sensible head on your shoulders most of the time,” May smiled.

  “Thank you May, thank you,” Peter grinned.

  “One thing Pete,” Tony put in.

  “Yes Tony?” the teen asked cautiously.

  “Is this Ned you’re off to see or this mystery girl?” the man asked, a smirk curling his lips.

  Peter knew that he must have gone bright red, horror at the suggestion especially in front Aunt May who had no clue about Peter’s relationship. So, instead of answering, he fled, turning with a hurried goodbye hearing “what girl Peter Parker!” yelled behind him.

  Blood still coloured his cheeks as he left Stark tower and made his way down the street. He kept his hood up and head down just in case, he really didn’t think that he could cope if anyone were to recognise him.

  It was only once he was on the train back to Queens that he pulled out his phone and sent of a text to his boyfriend. Boyfriend. Even just thinking it sent an excited chill through him.

_On my way if that’s okay with you._

_Absolutely, can’t wait xxx_ was the reply a moment later. Peter smiled at it, smiling at the words and smiling at the haste of the answer. It made him burn to get to the other teen faster but he wasn’t willing to get out as Spider-man just yet so this was the quickest option. It sucked.

  What also sucked was the fact that there were people everywhere, people pressed in close. Even while texting, he kept his chin tucked to his chest and his face in the constant shadow of his hood. His heart raced at the thought of someone seeing and recognising him, he felt ill with it but it was worth it if at the end he got to bury himself in Todd’s arms.

  Finally, the train pulled into the station, doors hissing open and people pouring out. Peter joined them hastily, making use of his small stature to wind his way through the crowds and out of the subway into the sun again. Closer.

  Making sure that his hood was securely covering his face, Peter made his way down the same streets that he could pass down with his eyes closed. His steps were sure but it seemed to take forever before he was at Todd’s door. Every person that passed him on his way made him feel more and more anxious so the sight of that now familiar door was more than just relief.

  He knocked and only had to wait a moment before it was opened and he was rushing in. There was Todd and there was Todd’s warm, safe, comforting arms. The teen hero practically threw himself into them, his taller boyfriend not hesitating to wrap him up in a tight hug, peppering Peter’s hair with kisses.

  After a long moment wherein Peter’s heart finally slowed, they moved apart and made their way to the bedroom. Todd had grabbed his hand and led him so that they never lost the physical contact and Peter couldn’t have been more grateful for it, using the touch of the warm, living presence to anchor him and keep him from the edge of anxiety.

   The pair fell into the bed, curling close and Todd just held him.

  “I don’t know if I can deal with this,” Peter whispered after a moment of silence.

  “You’ve been famous for ages though. Everyone knows Spider-man,” Todd replied.

  “It’s different though,” Peter said, pulling back so that he could look at the other,” it’s like Peter Parker and Spider-man are two different people. To me anyway. I feel so different when I’m in the suit and using the powers but at the end of the day I could take off the mask and just be me again. Now I can’t. I spent the whole way here just panicking that someone would see me and that would be it.”

  “Oh Pete, I can’t understand that. I’m a no one from Queens but I know that I would hate it. I can’t tell you what to do to do it right, how to avoid things. I can’t give you advice like you gave me,” Todd said, his voice was strained like he wanted to cry.

  “Todd, I don’t want you to give me advice. I know you that you can’t. I gave you advice when you were suicidal because I could, because I had been there. You haven’t been here. I haven’t come because you can tell me what to do, I’ve come because you give the best hugs and I needed to get away to somewhere with someone I felt safe with,” Peter reassured him.

  “Fuck Peter,” Todd huffed,” Spider-man lying in my bed telling me I give great hugs and I make him feel safe.”

  “Didn’t say that. Didn’t say that you gave great hugs, said you gave the best hugs,” Peter smirked, leaning in close and kissing the other.

  Todd returned the gesture, deepening it and rolling on top of Peter. Things stayed like that for a moment, it was soft and slow, each boy roving hands over the other until Todd pulled back.

  “Any other form of comfort I could give?” He asked with a sly smile.

  “Think so yeah,” Peter smirked back.

  This was what he needed.


	12. Sensory Overload

  He finally went back to school a week after the reveal. Happy drove him in in a relatively inconspicuous car, taking him in just as people were starting to crowd in the hopes that he could be lost in the masses. The driver kept looking at him in the rear view mirror, something that Peter was painfully aware of. He knew it was because of his silence, of his obvious nerves but he didn’t need to hide it from the man, he knew what was going on, knew Peter’s problem. For once this wasn’t something he was afraid to be afraid of.

  The car pulled up around the back of the school eventually and Peter slipped out with a quite “bye Happy”, shouldering his backpack and gripping the straps till his knuckles were white as he tried to push down his nerves. There wasn’t many people stopping around the back of the school building but those that were trailing in were already staring at him. They weren’t even trying to hide it, openly gawking at him and even stopping in place to watch him. Peter was already hating it. He tugged his jacket tighter around him. It was one that Tony had brought for him, one that was too expensive for Peter but too cheap for someone like Tony Stark- as Peter insisted.

  MJ and Ned had been the two people that Peter had contacted outside of the tower and outside of his boyfriend. Although he hadn’t physically seen them since his nasty reveal they had texted constantly, talking about nothings, about nerdy stuff that MJ pretty much just teased them for and school. They had only talked about the Spider-man business the night before, Peter having shut Ned down about it- yes, he had felt bad- and MJ had respected that. Last night though, Peter had told them he was coming back the next day and then they had talked about it, even MJ was supportive. They had also agreed on where to meet.

  Peter wasn’t able to avoid the crowds or the stairs, instead walking along hunched in on himself. Finally, finally, there were his friends. They greeted him like nothing was happening- they were the best- and the proceeded to flank him on either side as they made their way to homeroom- again, they were the best.

  The stares were the only thing that Peter had expected, for some reason he hadn’t actually expected anyone to come to him and ask questions. He had expected more than anything for people to stop admiring Spider-man, to look at him with hate and disgust. That wasn’t it though.  They were looking at him in awe. The people that came up to him were all excited, asking about Spider-man, his powers, what made him become a vigilante, what it was like fighting with the Avengers. He answered none of them of course, instead hunching further in on himself and looking to MJ for help. No one messed with that girl and he had never been happier to be friends with her.

  People that he knew, people that he had seen in the corridors and knew was passing recognition, people that he could not remember having ever seen before, all came to answer him. When they realised that they weren’t going to get answers from him, people left him alone but there were so many people in the school that there was always someone else to come and interrogate him. Classes got slightly better towards the end of the day with the people there had settled somewhat in his presence. Not that he had settled in theirs.

  Then there were the requests for autographs. What. Students came up to him, often bashful, and asked for him to sign pieces of paper, a page in school books, even once a Spider-man notebook. The teachers were awkwardly normally around him although kept glancing at him throughout lessons.

  And there was Flash.

  The other teen had always tormented Peter but today he… well he did not. In fact, he seemed to be following Peter, had to be. Every time he looked around he caught a glimpse of the other, his Spidey sense tingling almost constantly. When he wasn’t lurking in the background, Flash was there smiling and trying to chat with him or with Ned, never even attempting to approach MJ, although the girl sent him off every time.

  Needless to say, his nerves were shot by the end of the day. The only true relief was that none of the teachers had pulled him aside. There was probably some consoler or the head wanting to check on him, chastise him for endangering himself maybe. Something. Really, Peter couldn’t say for sure what the protocol was with this, not that there likely was a protocol for the reveal of a pupil’s secret identity as a superpowered vigilante.

  In all, Peter had been so wrapped up in what was going on within the school that he had completely forgotten about his reveal effecting the outside world. Forgotten about the paparazzi. Which is why it was quite such a big shock when he walked out of the doors at the end of the day and there they were.

  They swarmed, men and women, about forty or so in total, with camera’s flashing and recording devices shoved in his face along with yelled questions.

  “How long have you been Spider-man?”

  “How did you gain your powers?”

  “What is your relationship with the Avengers?”

  They were all yelled, questions that he was able to untangle from the mess of voices that were just too loud. Sensory overload was something that happened to him every so often, something that he had learnt over the last few years to predict and feel out. This though, this wasn’t like the slow crawl that came on him when he was trapped under the building, this was sudden. Instant. He could feel every fibre in his clothes, taste the sweat from other people’s body in the air. Lights were too bright, noises too loud. It hurt.

  He froze, chest constricted and heart throwing itself against his ribcage. Then there was a hand on his arm, grabbing and pulling him along. Instinctually he grabbed onto the hand, letting whoever it was pull him out of the crowd. It was only a moment later that he realised that it was Happy.

  The man got him to the car, opening the back door and only letting go of Peter when he was half way into the vehicle. As soon as the door closed, Peter curled up on himself, more than grateful for the tinted glass that hid him from the reporters that had followed them to the car.

  Even though they were now separated by the glass, things were still too bright, still too loud. His clothes hurt against his skin, even the expensive leather of the upholstery felt like sandpaper where he gripped the edge of the seat. The car started up and pulled away, the engine was roaring loud, pounding in his ears. Happy was looking at him every now and then, glancing away from the road, his eyes felt like they were burning into Peter.

  “What’s going on kid, you’re not okay?” the man asked, thankfully keeping his voice low, it still tore through Peter and he didn’t know if he could have managed a normal voice.

  “Sensory overload,” he whimpered, burying his face in his hands and hunching his shoulders up around his ears.

  “Shit,” Happy breathed.

  Peter had only ever told Tony about this once, downplaying it of course, not the effects, an explosion in the lab had set him off and the man had seen the mess first hand. What Tony didn’t know is how often it came over him, how he could feel the build up of pressure and hide away before it got too much. He didn’t know that only sometimes it was like this.

  He was too concentrated on trying to distance himself from his senses, to calm things down before they got back to the tower. Except apparently they had reached the tower because the door had opened and they were in the garage and that was Tony that had opened the door.

  The billionaire slipped in and closed the door behind him again, sitting on the seat besides Peter. He didn’t say a word, simply put a hand on the teen’s knee. Peter knew what he wanted, they had talked about it, discussed it at length after Peter’s breakdown. So Peter focused on the hand, on the warmth of it and the weight of it, the way it pushed the fibres of his jeans against his skin. He focused on that and nothing else until things were no longer so loud.

  Peter sighed and sagged back as everything went back to the way it should. That was when Tony pulled him close in a hug, when Peter buried his head in his mentor’s shoulder.

  “Thank you Tony,” he whispered, voice hoarse.

  “Any time kid,” the man replied into Peter’s hair.

  The teen just buried deeper into the warmth and safety of Tony’s arms, breathing deeply, smelling the aftershave that a moment before had been cloying and now was pleasant, comforting. Tony knew about the paparazzi, he had dealt with them, he had gotten through the crowds of flashing lights and noise for years and years. Tony would know what to do, he would protect him.

  “I’ll keep em away from you kid, I promise okay. From now on they will come no where near you,” Tony whispered into his hair.

  “Thank you, thank you.”

  “No problem kid, seriously no need. Now let’s go and get you something to eat, must be starving after all of this.”

  “Yeah.”

  They made their way up to the penthouse, Tony’s hand never leaving the space between Peter’s shoulder blades. Despite all the problems and all the weaknesses he displayed Tony was stood by him to support him. Sometimes he heard people taking about Iron Man and he always hated it, people talked about how cool the armour was and how he could swoop in and save the day. Not enough people spoke about Tony Stark, not enough of them appreciated that it was him, flesh and blood, that was the hero, not the protective shell. But Peter knew, he would always know and he just wished that he could make more people know too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Avengers Endgame, the most brilliant and terrible movie I have ever seen.


	13. In Love

  He found that he was spending a lot more time with Todd, or his ‘girlfriend’ as May and Tony still thought. Peter really couldn’t pull up the courage to come out to the two people he considered family, it was too much especially in light of everything. Although he had never specifically had a conversation with his guardians regarding their stance on same sex relationships, Peter knew logically that they would have no problem with them. It was just the whole change thing, things needed to settle down for a while and become normal again before he threw another spanner in the works.

  It didn’t matter though, he went out to see Todd, enduring the teasing from his mentor and his Aunt when he returned with bruises on his neck or a love sick smile. He knew at the base of it all they were happy for him.

  Every day that passed had Peter relaxing more in public, not to the point that he was going to take risks or anything stupid like that but relaxed enough that he wasn’t a nervous wreck every time that he walked put of the door. The teen had gotten good at hiding his face, weeks had passed and the whole Spider-man reveal wasn’t hot news anymore. Tony had made sure that the reporters all stayed away from him and other than persistent requests for Tony to give a statement on the matter, they seemed to have dropped the issue.

  Which is why he and Todd had started going out more again. They still made plenty use of the blue-eyed teen’s Netflix and his bed, they used that a lot. As in not only for sex although that was often, sleepy cuddles and literal sleeping together took place also. Peter was increasingly comfortable with the sex bit and being naked around his boyfriend, it was stupid really to be self-conscious of his scars when Todd had them too in the same way.

  They had tried shower sex before which turned out to be really too awkward and so they didn’t try it again after the first time. That wasn’t the point though, the point was that they had gotten in a washed each other, hands all over the other, rubbing into skin. It was trust both from Todd and Peter and Peter loved it. He loved showering with his boyfriend. It was intimate in a way that was slightly different from sex, it wasn’t about the pleasure when he rubbed shampoo into the other’s scalp, instead it was for the warmth that was building in his chest.

  Peter was far from stupid academically and- even though he wasn’t the most social of bunnies- he knew how to judge emotions. He could read people quite well, the enhanced abilities that the spider bite gave him only helped with that. It was however harder to work out what he himself felt some of the time but even so, the teenaged hero couldn’t deny that he was falling for his boyfriend. Okay, maybe not falling. Fallen.

  Peter Parker had fallen in love with Todd James.

  People always said that you would never forget your first love, that they will always have a place in your heart. Before, Peter had always been sceptical, because surely you would love the person that you ended up with and that would blow everything else out of the water. Now that he had felt this first love, he knew that what people said had to be true.

  This feeling was foreign, it was scary and exhilarating all at once. He had never felt anything like it, powerful and addictive. Often, he found himself very nearly asking Todd if he felt the same thing. This however Peter knew was not a question that you just asked. For now, he was happy to just bask in his love for the other.

  Of course though, it would all slip out at some point. Also naturally it was after sex when Peter blabbed, high on endorphins and love. The sheets were tangled around their sweaty, frankly disgusting bodies but neither cared, too fucked out to move other than to gently caress the other. It was a tender moment, it always seemed to be with them afterwards, no matter how enthusiastic the actual event. Tender and full of love.

  “I love you,” Peter breathed, face close to his boyfriend’s as he tucked a tray strand of sweaty hair behind Todd’s ear.

  There was none of that cliché panic that came with an impromptu love confession. By the time that Peter’s brain caught up with what he had said, Todd was beaming. He was smiling wide in the way that etched itself into his blue eyes, making them glint with pure happiness. The taller teen wrapped an arm around Peter’s waist, pulling him close and burying his face in Peter’s shoulder.

  Peter could feel Todd’s smile against his bare skin and it made him grin too, heart beating out hard purely because this was amazing. He held on tight to the other, the pair wrapped together so tight that they became the only things in the universe.

  “Love you too Pete,” Todd replied after a moment, the words spoken close enough that Peter could fell them against his neck as he heard them.

  The pair stayed like that for a while longer, no need to rush and neither wanting to let the other go. In the end they decided that it would be much nicer for them to curl back up once they had showered and changed the sheets to clean ones.

  Of course this was brilliant as well, Peter getting to wash off his boyfriend who _loved him_ , admire him and touch him, be admired and touched. It meant that he could admire the work he had done on Todd’s neck, running reverent fingers over the purple marks before washing away the sweat. Todd would often lean in and kiss the hickey’s that he had left on Peter, something that the smaller teen loved. It was the one downfall of his healing abilities; the hickeys his boyfriend gave him disappeared before they should- though they lingered long enough that he couldn’t hide them from his aunt and mentor. Not that there was any point now, they knew what he got up to.

  In the process of showering, they came up with a much better plan than curling back up on fresh sheets. Go out, get coffee, walk down the streets in the sun that was shining that day. It meant that they could hold hands and chat, be free, normal teenagers unburdened by superhero alter egos or suicidal thoughts.

  So that’s what they did, they dressed and left the apartment where Todd’s mother was, as usual, passed out on the couch, the pair walking hand in hand down the street. They had a favourite coffee shop that they went to regularly and served great coffee for a low price.

  Once they had coffee in hand, the pair made their way to the tables that sat outside where they could enjoy the sun. Despite what had been said between the two earlier, they were completely the same with each other- perfect, the only way that Peter could have really hoped for. The only difference was the feeling in Peter’s chest. It was as if the warmth had been trapped but now it was free to move though him, fill him up.

  They sat and talked, drank their coffees and talked some more. Meaningless things that took them away from any sadness’s in their lives and down carefree paths. Peter knew that he was looking at his boyfriend with the sappiest of looks but it didn’t matter because that was how those blue eyes stared back at him. It didn’t matter because Todd loved him.

  Eventually, they had to get up, Peter would be going back to Stark Tower but he would walk with Todd back to the teen’s rundown apartment, squeeze every last minute out. So they stood, Todd leaning over and pecking Peter on the lips before Peter wound their fingers together and they made their way away. Neither cared about the looks they sometimes got for flaunting their gay relationship, it was New York and not many people gave a rat’s arse. They were happy and every time that Todd showed public affection it let Peter know that Todd wasn’t ashamed and the same was true the other way around.

  Especially in the light of all the turmoil in Peter’s life, that was the best day of his life so far.  


	14. Rest of the World

  Tony was drinking his morning coffee in the kitchen with May, silent and sleepy after a night where he had actually gone to bed and slept- living with these Parkers seemed to have been good for him. Both May and himself were still in sleep wear and entirely ruffled but awake. It was in that moment of silence that FRIDAY alerted him about a relevant news report.

  “Sir, I think that this is something you should see,” She announced.

  “What is it baby girl?”

  “It is a news report regarding Peter Boss,” the AI replied.

  “Play it Fri,” Tony replied immediately, wary about what the contents might be.

  He knows for sure that he had fully woken at the warning, May having perked up in his peripheral. FRIDAY brought up a hologram of the report, playing it from the beginning as it showed a lady and man sat at a desk in the typical way of gossip channels. Great.

  “So, Peter Parker, sixteen year old boy attending Midtown High and swinging about as Queen’s own Spider-man in his spare time. A rather recent reveal Chris that shocked everyone, we knew that Spider-man was young but not this young, especially considering he’s been around for a few years,” the woman began.

  “Yes indeed Laura, the teen seems to be holed up with Tony Stark himself since the reveal, has been very hidden. We know he’s been out and about to school but he’s good at hiding. That is until yesterday,” the man, Chris, replied.

  “Yesterday, Peter Parker was photographed outside of a coffee shop in his hometown of Queens with another teen boy that has yet to be identified,” Laura announced.

  On the screen there came a picture of Peter and a teen that Tony had never seen. They were sat outside of a coffee shop, sipping coffee in the sun. There was nothing remarkable about the picture, both boys were smiling, they were having a normal day doing things that teenagers do.

  “At first, the photographs are just of the two seemingly enjoying a nice day in the sun,” the man continued,” however, further photos show that it is not just friendship that these two boys share. Who would have thought our own Spider-man had an interest in the same gender, good for him.”

  The photograph that showed on the screen after the words showed indeed that maybe Peter didn’t have a girlfriend. In the picture the two were standing behind their table kissing, it seemed light, both content and familiar with the gesture. This one was followed by one of the two boys walking off hand in hand, the strange boy turned slightly towards Peter as he spoke while Peter smiled in return, adoration clear on his face.

  It was at that point that Tony heard a spluttering behind him and he whipped around to see the boy from the pictures standing in the doorway, face pale. The billionaire grimaced and waved for the hologram to be shut off. After that, silence once more reined in the kitchen.

  “Why didn’t you just say that you had a boyfriend Peter?” May asked, the first to break the silence.

  “I um, well, you know… well you guys were happy with my having a girlfriend and I didn’t see the point in correcting you,” the teen in the doorway stuttered.

  The boy was red as a tomato and really Tony just felt sorry for him to have to come out to them in this way. In all fairness, he could sympathise with the boy’s reasoning as he was always going on at him about his girlfriend or getting himself a girl, anything like that. Still, how was there any way that Peter thought he would have a problem with his liking boys? How did he think that May would?

  “Look,” the teen continued, “It’s not like I thought you’d hate me or anything like that- well maybe a little at first- but I didn’t want more things to change after the whole identity thing. There was just enough going on and I wasn’t planning for you to meet him any time soon.”

  Oh. Well then… that was quite sad that the boy was so mixed up at the moment.

  “What’s his name Peter?” May asked.

  “Todd,” Peter replied quietly.

  “What the kid you ‘study with’? The one that tried to kill himself?” Tony asked, suddenly connecting why that name was familiar with a sickening feeling.

  “Um, yeah, that’s him,” the teen grumbled.

  “He tried to kill himself? Peter how did you meet him?” May asked, instantly anxious.

  “Through Spider-man wasn’t it,” Tony half stated, half asked.

  “Spider-man? He knows Peter?” the woman asked, Tony couldn’t quite judge whether she was angry, worried or just curious. Maybe a mix of emotions.

  “Yeah May, he knows,” Peter sighed and Tony really did feel sorry for the kid.

  “Well, now we really do have to meet him. First things first though; breakfast,” the billionaire announced.

***

  Peter couldn’t believe what he was seeing when he walked into the kitchen that morning, there on in a hologram was a news report depicting him kissing his boyfriend. A report that the whole world would see including the two adults he considered family that were sat in front of the hologram right that moment. They didn’t notice him at first but they sure did when he choked on his own saliva as he saw the picture of him locking lips with Todd.

  He then wished vehemently that they hadn’t noticed him there because the conversation that followed was the most embarrassing off his life. Peter was coming out to Tony freaking Stark for crying out loud. Tony Stark wasn’t the only one though, it was May as well. The way that she looked at him, she was hurt that he hadn’t told her about Todd. So, by the looks of it, was his mentor.

  Afterwards though, they just sat down, they ate breakfast. It was surreal, probably because Peter had been working it up and running it all over and over in his mind and making the who thing a much bigger deal than it seemed it was.

  He wished so badly that it was just May and Tony that knew, they were sat there at the table eating eggs and bacon that May had cooked up. Tony had a cup of coffee in front of him that he was idly sipping from as he did whatever he did on his phone while May started into her cup in the way that someone who had only just woken up would. Peter himself ate and drank orange juice. It was normal. They didn’t care.

  No one would be able to say the same for the rest of the world.


	15. End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this is very short but it's just the end, I'm petering out so sorry but I just wanted it done.

  It was all over the news. Spider-man was gay. Oh the crap he was getting at school, Flash wouldn’t let up. Despite this, Peter found that he couldn’t care. Of course, there were those that were intolerant, having started back ad the vigilante, he got abuse from the criminals. That was harder than school for some reason, being judged by strangers.

  Overall though, it was a good thing, in fact a very good one. In a closed court, Tony and May took Todd’s mother for child negligence, winning the case before May actually turned up with adoption papers. There had been hesitance on Tony and May’s part at first, what if Peter and Todd didn’t work out and they were still stuck together. In the end, Peter convinced them, the thought of not being with his boyfriend hurt though he knew that it was a possibility however Peter knew that he just wanted Todd to finally have a happy family.

  So, the last years of childhood ended well for the two, they never split, only got stronger and closer. They both struggled with the everyday teen struggles but they supported each other, Peter didn’t think that he could have gotten through some of his Spider-man battles without his boyfriend. Todd had never spoken to his mother after the court affairs, didn’t want to, but he struggled and that was where Peter came in.

  Tony and May were supportive, never batted an eye and the world was right behind them. A gay superhero was something good to represent the community or something. Peter didn’t pay attention to that, was just grateful that he wasn’t getting hate there.

  When they were both twenty five, they got married. It was a small affair, private and included only their closest friends and family. There was no photos released to the public but the media soon caught onto the union after seeing the wedding bands.

  They never split, they grew old together, had children together and grandchildren. They supported each other through everything, proving as May put it “ the true power of friendship and love.”


End file.
